Former Stanford distance star Ryan Hall and Peter Gilmore of San Mateo are two of the favorites entered in today’s U.S. Olympic marathon trials in New York City.

Hall, the second-fastest marathoner in U.S. history after running it just once, said he can’t be too cautious on the loop course in Central Park if he wants to earn a berth to the Beijing Games by finishing among the top three.

“There is a point in a race where you have to take a bit of a chance,” Hall said. “I want to make sure it’s a wise choice.

“My biggest fear is I will do something not smart, and I’ve done that before. I don’t want to be out there at any point thinking, ‘I wish I could take the race back.’ “

Other favorites include Abdi Abdirahman of Tucson, Alan Culpepper of Lafayette, Colo., Meb Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes and Dathan Ritzenhein of Eugene, Ore.

Motor sports

Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso left McLaren after a stormy first season with the British team. Alonso joined McLaren after winning the championship in 2006 and 2006 with Renault. He clashed with management and teammate Lewis Hamilton throughout the season and ended up third overall.

• Nextel Cup rookie AJ Allmendinger, who grew up in San Jose, qualified fifth for Sunday’s Dickies 500, his best career starting position in a Cup race and the first time he has been in the top 10.

MLS

Brian Ching and Brad Davis led Houston to the Western Conference finals, scoring in overtime after the Dynamo defeated FC Dallas 2-1 in regulation to tie the two-game, total-goals series.

Stuart Holden and Ching had second-half goals to help Houston win the game 2-1, tying the series at 3. Dallas won the opener 1-0 last Saturday.